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Sukkot

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah

Each year we enter the physical space of the Sukkah with joy and excitement for the holiday.

On This Page:

Service Times | Sukkot Events | Be prepared for Sukkot at home |  Food Delivery | About Shemini Atzeret | About Simchat Torah

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah
Service and Candelighting Times

Erev Sukkot, Monday, October 6
6:30pm Erev Sukkot Service
6:25pm Candle Lighting

Sukkot Day 1, Tuesday, October 7
9:30am Sukkot Service
11:00am Youth Services
7:25pm Ma’ariv
7:21pm Candle Lighting

Sukkot Day 2, Wednesday, October 8
9:30am Sukkot Service
7:25pm Ma’ariv

Hoshana Rabah, Monday, October 13
8:30am  Service 

Erev Shemini Atzeret, Monday, October 13
6:15pm Erev Shemini Atzeret Service
6:14pm Candle Lighting

Shemini Atzeret, Tuesday, October 14
9:30am Shemini Atzeret Service (includes Yizkor)
7:11pm Candle Lighting
7:15pm Erev Simchat Torah Service and Hakafot

Simchat Torah, Wednesday, October 15
9:30am Simchat Torah Service and Hakafot
7:10pm Ma’ariv

All services in the sanctuary will be available via livestream at olamtikvah.org/livestream

Be prepared for Sukkot at home

Sukkot begins Monday evening, October 6. Make sure you have everything you need to celebrate!

S'chach (Sukkah roof)

Celebrate Sukkot with your own s'chach (bamboo roof) to complete your sukkah.

S'chach order deadline: 12:00pm Friday, October 3. Pick up: Sunday October 5th, 9:00am to 11:00am  from the S'chach cutting site (details coming soon).
Cost: $25.

Order your s'chach here

Sukkot Food Delivery

Sunflower Sukkot Delivery


Order deadline: Thursday, September 25 at 12:00pm
Pickup: Tuesday, September 30 from 12:00-5:00pm

Get delicious desserts and round treats for Sukkot from Sunflower Bakery!

See their special Sukkot Menu. Sukkot menu ordering is live! 

For culinary orders please order from their Rosh Hashanah Culinary Menu.

  1. Go to https://www.sunflowerbakery.org/products/sukkot/
  2. Orders need to be placed directly with Sunflower Bakery via their website before noon on Thursday, September 25. Pickup at OT on Tuesday, September 30.
  3. At checkout, under Pickup or Delivery, choose Sukkot Pickup Locations (September 30-October 6) and select 9/30 Congregation Olam Tikvah 12-4 in the dropdown menu.
  4. If you have any trouble with the order, please email info@sunflowerbakery.org

 

Your order will be available for pickup in the Olam Tikvah office on Tuesday, September 30, between 12:00m-5:00pm!

Assembling Your Lulav

Need a refresher on how to put your lulav together? Watch Rabbi Kalender's walkthrough.

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah Events

JFGH Sukkah Raising, Sunday, Sept 28, 10:00am. Help Men’s Club/ABBA raise the sukkah for the Brown Berish Jewish Family Group Home in Annandale. 

YALA Sushi in the Sukkah, Mon, Oct 6, 6:30pm. Join other OT 20s-30s for a sushi dinner from Oro Nami Kosher Sushi following Erev Sukkot services. Registration is Now Closed

Hazak Lunch in the OT Sukkah with Lior and Yahli, Thursday, Oct 9, 12:00pm. Join your Hazak friends at Olam Tikvah for a lunch in the OT sukkah and get to know our new Shinshiniot, Yahli and Lior! They will share their reasons for joining the Shinshinim program and offer us the chance to see Israel through their eyes. Register Here

Share-A-Shabbat-In-The-Sukkah, Fri, Oct 10. Join the OT community as we gather in one another's sukkot across Northern Virginia for Shabbat dinner! Let us do the matchmaking or invite your own guests. REGISTRATION CLOSES WED, 10/1, AT NOON. Sign Up To Participate Here 

S’mores in the Sukkah, Sat, Oct 11, 7:15-8:30pm. Join our community partners, Growing Jewish Families and Faith in Blue, to say farewell to Shabbat and hello to some delicious s’mores, savored in the OT sukkah! Register Here   Sponsored by Melinda & Mark Roth in memory of Melinda's father, Dr. Alan Gray 

What happens when you give kids a bunch of stuff and challenge them to build the most creative sukkot they can think of? Let's find out! Register Here

Kadima Limo Sukkah Hop, Sun, Oct 12, 12:00-2:30pm. Ride in style with Kadima (5th-7th grades) as we “hop” from sukkah to sukkah. REGISTRATION HAS REACHED CAPACITY

USY Limo Sukkah Hop, Sun, Oct 12, 6:00-8:00pm. Our USYers (8th-12th graders) are jumping into the limo to visit sukkot around town in style! Register Here

Men’s Club Beer & Trivia in the Sukkah, Sun, Oct 12, 7:30-9:30pm. Join Men's Club for a fun night of snacks, craft beer, and trivia in the OT sukkah! Registration here.

Dance with Torah! Celebrate Simchat Torah with dancing, singing, and aliyot for all on the evening of Tuesday, October 14 and the morning of Wednesday, October 15.

Shemini Atzeret

Celebrate Shemini Atzeret  on Tuesday, October 14

Shemini Atzeret is both a holiday unto itself and the eighth day of Sukkot. As a nod to both aspects, it is customary to eat meals in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret (Friday night and Saturday), but not to recite the blessing for dwelling in the sukkah.

The Shemini Atzeret service will include Hallel, Yizkor and Geshem.

Hallel is a collection of Psalms recited on holidays and on Rosh Chodesh before the Torah service. It expresses our gratitude and joy for divine providence. The melody is truly joyful and we look forward to singing it as we end the fall holiday season.

We have the opportunity once more to recite Yizkor in remembrance of those who are no longer with us. Remember to light a yahrtzeit candle before the holiday begins on Friday evening. Yizkor is on Saturday morning following the Torah service.

Shemini Atzeret marks the beginning of the rainy season, which we note by adding mashiv ha-ruach u'morid ha-gashem (You cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall) to Musaf. On this day, we also sing Geshem, the prayer for rain, following the Yizkor service. This moving and beautiful prayer recalls the many ways that water is central to our lives and to our history.

Simchat Torah

Celebrate Simchat Torah on Tuesday, October 14 and the morning of Wednesday, October 15.

On Simchat Torah ("Rejoicing with the Torah"), we celebrate reaching the end of the Torah and starting anew right away. Simchat Torah marks the end of our annual reading of the Torah with the final parasha of Devarim, and then we begin again immediately with Bereishit. It is a joyous holiday that celebrates our love of Torah.

The Simchat Torah evening service on Saturday, October 7, brings us together in hakafot (dancing with the Torah). Weather permitting, we hold this service outside in the courtyard. Traditionally, children join the hakafot waving homemade flags to help create a parade-like atmosphere. You can make your own at home (see instructions here), or print this downloadable version. Make our hakafot festive and fun with your own flag to wave!

The Simchat Torah morning service includes more hakafot and flags, and a recitation of Hallel, expressing our gratitude and joy for divine providence, as well as special honors for members of our community who represent our past and our future. Simchat Torah is the only time of year that everyone, even those who are not yet Bar or Bat Mitzvah, is eligible for an aliyah. At Olam Tikvah, we celebrate with Aliyot for All.

Wed, October 22 2025 30 Tishrei 5786